Edgybees
Israeli-founded aerial-video and satellite-imagery georegistration company founded in 2016 by veterans including Unit 8200 graduates; its software has been used by the IDF in Gaza and the US Air Force
| Edgybees
| |
|---|---|
| Trade name | Edgybees Ltd. |
| Logo |  Edgybees logo |
| Type | Private company |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Founder(s) | Adam Kaplan, Menashe Haskin, Nitay Megides |
| Headquarters | Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States (2021); founded in Herzliya, Israel |
| Industry | Geospatial software; computer vision; defence technology |
| Homepage | https://edgybees.com/ |
Edgybees (Edgybees Ltd.) is an Israeli-founded software company that aligns live aerial video and satellite imagery with geographical reference data. It was founded in 2016 by Adam Kaplan, Menashe Haskin and Nitay Megides.[1] NoCamels described Haskin as "a graduate of the IDF Intelligence Corps Unit 8200" (Unit 8200),[2] and the company's own funding announcement said that Megides "served in the elite Israeli Defense Forces 8200 Unit".[3] In November 2023 NoCamels reported that the Israel Defense Forces were using Edgybees software to "strike their targets with the utmost precision" in the Gaza Strip.[4] The company has also held contracts with the United States Air Force.[5]
History
According to ISRAEL21c, the company began in 2016, when Kaplan "caught the drone bug" from Haskin; the two developed an augmented-reality racing game for drones, Drone Prix AR, which was released with the drone maker DJI.[6] In 2017 it released First Response, an app for emergency services, which Globes said was first used in the Florida Keys after Hurricane Irma and then during the Northern California wildfires.[1] ISRAEL21c reported that it was also used by the United Hatzalah emergency response network in Israel.[6]
The company then moved into defence and intelligence work. In March 2020 it announced that it had been awarded "its largest contract yet" by AFWERX, an innovation programme of the US Air Force, to integrate its Argus augmented-reality software with Air Force systems, and that it was one of 21 small businesses slated to receive four-year contracts worth a combined $550 million or more through AFVentures' Strategic Financing programme.[5] Kaplan told Janes that Edgybees was working with the Air Force to use Argus with its unmanned aerial vehicles, including the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, and that Argus would also be used with Insitu's ScanEagle for Air Force Special Operations Command.[7]
In November 2022 SpaceNews reported that Shay Har-Noy, a former vice-president of DigitalGlobe and Maxar Technologies, had become chief executive, and that the company had extended its technology to satellite imagery.[8]
Location
Sources differ over where the company is based. In February 2018 Globes and the company's own announcement said that it was headquartered in Israel, with offices in Europe and the United States,[1][3] while TechCrunch called it "a Santa Clara-based startup"[9] and ISRAEL21c said that its development team was in "an Israeli beach town near Kfar Vitkin".[6] NoCamels placed its headquarters in Palo Alto, California, with offices in Beit Herut in northern Israel.[2] The company's 2020 announcement said that it was headquartered in Washington DC,[5] its 2021 funding announcement was datelined Gaithersburg, Maryland,[10] and TechCrunch said in 2021 that it "had its start in Israel but is now based in San Diego".[11] In 2023 NoCamels said that it was "founded in Herzliya in 2016 and today headquartered in Maryland".[4]
The founding year is also given differently: most reports give 2016,[1][8] but the company's 2020 announcement said "Founded in 2017".[5]
Founders and military service
Globes reported in 2018 that the company "was founded by CEO Adam Scott Kaplan, CTO Menashe Haskin and director of platform Nitay Megides".[1]
- Menashe Haskin: NoCamels wrote that Kaplan was introduced to drones "by pal Menashe Haskin, a graduate of the IDF Intelligence Corps Unit 8200 who had also managed the development of Amazon Prime Air" (Intelligence Corps; Amazon).[2] Ctech said that he "formerly managed the Israeli development office of Amazon Prime Air".[12] In 2023 NoCamels described him as "co-founder and chief experience officer of Edgybees".[4]
- Nitay Megides: the company's 2018 announcement described him as "a robotics and drone expert, who served in the elite Israeli Defense Forces 8200 Unit, and specializes in drone hardware and software design and architecture".[3]
- Adam Kaplan: the same announcement said that he had co-founded and served as an executive in technology companies including Xennex, AtHoc, Digital Guardian and Tonian.[3] He was chief executive at least until 2021.[10]
Funding
In February 2018 Edgybees announced a $5.5 million seed round that included Motorola Solutions' venture arm, Verizon Ventures, OurCrowd, 8VC, NFX and Aspect Ventures. It said that it would use the money to take its technology into "new verticals, including defense, smart cities, automotive, and broadcast media".[3] In February 2021 it announced a $9.5 million Series A round led by Seraphim Capital, with Refinery Ventures, LG Technology Ventures, Kodem Growth Partners, OurCrowd and Verizon Ventures taking part.[10][11]
Use by the Israel Defense Forces
On 6 November 2023 NoCamels reported:
Advanced artificial intelligence software is helping Israeli forces currently operating in the Gaza Strip strike their targets with the utmost precision, by accurately mapping ground-level data over real-time images and videos taken by drones and satellites.
It said that the software aligned aerial video and satellite imagery with older reference photographs, "making it easier for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to pinpoint specific locations and send in ground troops to that exact position", and that "The IDF is not only using Edgybees to increase the accuracy of the targets it is striking, but also to enhance and improve communication between troops". Haskin told NoCamels that such accuracy "can even be a matter of life or death".[4]
See also
- Unit 8200
- Israel Defense Forces
- Cyber and tech firms founded by ex Unit 8200 or occupation forces veterans
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Globes correspondent, Israeli AR drone and car co Edgybees raises $5.5m Globes, 28 February 2018, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Simona Shemer, This Israeli Startup Combines Drones, AR Tech To Help Save Lives In Emergency Situations NoCamels, 26 March 2018 (archived 26 March 2018), accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Edgybees, Edgybees Raises $5.5 Million Seed Round to Save Lives with Augmented Reality Business Wire, 28 February 2018 (archived 8 March 2018), accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Ariel Grossman, AI Keeps IDF Satellite Imagery Up To Date By Mixing Old And New NoCamels, 6 November 2023 (archived 13 September 2025), accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Edgybees, Edgybees Wins Its Largest Contract to Date From AFWERX to Enhance US Air Force Situational Awareness PR Newswire, 17 March 2020, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Abigail Klein Leichman, US firefighters and police turn to an Israeli app to save lives ISRAEL21c, 28 February 2018, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Pat Host, US Air Force awards Edgybees contract for Argus augmented reality software Janes, 26 March 2020, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Debra Werner, Shay Har-Noy takes the helm at Edgybees SpaceNews, 29 November 2022, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Frederic Lardinois, Edgybees raises $5.5M to bring better AR to cars and drones TechCrunch, 28 February 2018, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Edgybees, Edgybees Closes $9.5M in Series A Funding, Delivers Breakthrough Geo-Mapping Accuracy and Speed for Lifesaving Aerial Video PR Newswire, 17 February 2021, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Frederic Lardinois, Edgybees raises $9.5M Series A for its aerial video augmentation service TechCrunch, 17 February 2021, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Ctech, Verizon, Motorola Solutions Back High-Speed Augmented Reality Startup Edgybees Calcalist Ctech, 28 February 2018, accessed 10 November 2026.